Beijing
\nChinese President Xi Jinping is planning to travel to Russia to meet with his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter said, which would be sooner than previously expected.
\nPlans for a visit come as China has been offering to broker peace in Ukraine, an effort that has been met with skepticism in the West given China\u2019s diplomatic support for Russia.
\nRussia\u2019s Tass news agency reported on Jan. 30 that Putin had invited Xi to visit in the spring. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that a visit to Moscow could take place in April or early May.
\nChina\u2019s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of Xi going to Moscow and the Kremlin declined to comment.
\nNo other details were immediately available.
\nThe sources briefed on the matter declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the issue.
\nLast month, Putin hosted China\u2019s top diplomat Wang Yi on a visit to Moscow and signaled that Xi would travel to Russia.
\nXi has met Putin in person 39 times since becoming president, most recently in September during a summit in central Asia.<\/p>\n
China and Russia struck a \u201cno limits\u201d partnership in February of 2022, when Putin was visiting Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympics, weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, and the two sides have continued to reaffirm the strength of their ties.
\nOn Monday, Xi wrapped up the annual session of China\u2019s parliament, the National People\u2019s Congress, during which he was unanimously confirmed in a precedent-breaking third term as president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Beijing Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning to travel to Russia to meet with his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter said, which would be sooner than previously expected. Plans for a visit come as China has been offering to broker peace in Ukraine, an effort that has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-319324","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n